OKLAHOMA CITY – On Friday, state Rep. Mike Sanders, R-Kingfisher, released a statement on the destruction of the Ten Commandments statue on the site of the state Capitol.

“The news surrounding the destruction of the Ten Commandments statue at the Capitol is absolutely unbelievable to me. For someone to have enough hate in their heart to go to so much effort to destroy a monument that a resounding majority of Oklahomans support is just bewildering to me.

“This is an attack on Christianity and the Christian principles in which this country was founded. It is absolutely unconscionable. Whoever did this is a despicable person and an absolute coward. Even if you’re not of the Christian or Jewish faiths and don’t support the Ten Commandments, there is nothing on there that should offend a halfway decent, good person. I mean, is this person for theft? Are they in favor of murder or adultery? Do they have an axe to grind against their mom or dad? The Commandments are – even if you’re not a person of faith – a great list of things to abide by when navigating the potential pitfalls of life. There is nothing in those Commandments which is hateful, mean or vulgar.

“Let’s be honest here, this took a fair degree of planning to accomplish. To drive a vehicle up to the side of the state Capitol, drive across the lawn and ram the statue is not an easy thing to do if you know how things are laid out around this building.

“This wasn’t someone on a drunken bender – it was a person who hated the idea of good-natured, Christian principles represented on the state Capitol grounds and was on a mission to destroy a monument representing peace and goodwill. Well, mission accomplished, but the person that did this needs to take note of Isaiah 54:17, which states that ‘no weapon formed against you shall prosper.’ The perpetrator of this terrible act of hate will come to face the consequences.

“We will get to the bottom of this. There are security cameras all over the outside of this building and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has an excellent team of investigators on the scene and, when caught, the perpetrator will be prosecuted at the highest level.”